PETALING JAYA: Negri Sembilan have grit and resilience when it comes to grinding out a single point and they proved it by holding Kuching City.
The Deer broke the hearts of Kuching City fans when they scored right at the death to hold the home side 1-1 at the State Stadium in Kuching on Sunday.
The home side thought they won the match when substitute striker Ahmad Hazwan Bakri scored in the 101st minute, as the match referee gave almost 20 minutes of injury time.
But Negri’s captain Annas Rahmat proved a spoiler when he scored the equaliser in the 106th minute.
Kuching remain seventh with 15 points, while Negri are 12th with six points.
Coach K. Nanthakumar revealed that during the international break, he made sure his side played friendly matches to be at a good momentum for the game against the Cats.
“We came to Kuching for at least a point, so when they scored, one would think that our heads would be down, but we showed superb fight to get the equaliser,” he said.
“I want this determination to continue and hopefully we will get our second win of the season soon.”
But their next game will not be an easy one as they take on table toppers Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi on Nov 1.
Nanthakumar, though, is looking forward to taking them on.
“They are the best team in the nation. The boys will do their best and yes, there will be changes in terms of line-up. These next few days, we will put in lots of hours to plan.”
Meanwhile, Kuching coach Aidil Sharin said his boys learnt the hard way in terms of getting results and believes the outing against Negri Sembilan would make his team stronger.
“We controlled the match while Negri relied on counters. Also, they planned to get a point. We have to learn from our mistakes, especially during the dying stages of games,” said the Singaporean.
“We made an unnecessary foul and they punished us. We have to move on and be positive. We will not make the same mistake again.
“On the positive side, I am happy to see Hazwan opening his account for us. We will improve and bounce back for the next match against Kuala Lumpur in Kuching on Oct 26.”
